A great solution for students

An exciting partnership has materialized to provide health care education opportunities for Richwood High School students.

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury, Living Well Foundation and the Ouachita Parish School Board have come together to create facilities and courses that will help Richwood students prepare for good careers in health care, where there always seems to be a shortage of qualified applicants for jobs.

The Ouachita Parish School Board plans to use approximately $1.5 million of the $19 million from its 2011 bond sale to construct a building at Richwood High School to expand the school's certified nursing program, first responder program, sport medicine and pharmacy technician courses.

The opportunity arose when plans for a school-based health clinic were dashed because funding sources dried up. But, this may become a great investment in these students' futures.

Randy Hammett, Ouachita Parish Schools' director of high schools, expects construction to begin in early 2013.

The Police Jury and Living Well Foundation have provided more than $500,000 to expand the health care programs at the school. The Police Jury provided $300,000 while the Living Well Foundation gave $210,000 to expand those programs.

That money will be used to buy equipment, supplies and other materials needed for those programs.

These programs can provide life-changing benefits for Richwood students as they prepare for college or the workforce. If students decide to go to college and invest themselves further in a health care career, they will have a good head start by participating in these programs at the high school level. If they decide to go to career training or technical school to obtain a certificate, they can still earn a good living and provide for their families in the health care field.

"The emphasis right now is college and career readiness and I think this will help in both ways," Hammett said.

Richwood principal Sharilynn Loche said the school plans to expand its programs to add other educational courses, including dental assistant, dental hygienist, and medical billing and coding.

"It's just awesome for our students. Even though we have a college track, we realize a large majority of our students won't go to college, so we need to prepare them with skills to enter the workforce," Loche said.

She believes the programs will decrease the dropout rate by giving students hands-on experience with various professions to keep them more engaged and optimistic about their future.

The concept has great potential, not just for the students but also for future needs in our community.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star's editorial board, composed of President and Publisher David B. Petty, Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock and community representatives Kay Kellogg Katz, Harris Brown and Will Sutton.

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A great solution for students

An exciting partnership has materialized to provide health care education opportunities for Richwood High School students.The Ouachita Parish Police Jury, Living Well Foundation and the Ouachita